Of Deals and Happy Endings
by honestlydarkprincess
Summary: Octavia makes Clarke a deal: she'll ask Lincoln out if Clarke asks Bellamy out. Will they both get a happy ending? Or, the one where they're both worried about asking out their crushes but it turns out they have nothing to worry about.


**_This was originally part of a multi-chapter ficlet collection but I've decided to post them all separately, so if you've read this before that's where it was from._**

 **Mostly Linctavia, background bellarke.**

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"O, come on, just ask him out!" Clarke groaned, exasperated.

Octavia glared at the other girl, taking her eyes off the guy she had been trying to subtly stare at. "Like you have any room to talk, Princess," She said, using her brother's nickname for the blonde to make her point. "I'll ask him out if you finally get your shit together and ask Bell out."

Clarke huffed, returning the brunette's glare with one of her own. "That's not the same thing and you know it."

Octavia rolled her eyes. "Sure it isn't. We're both crushing on someone and failing to ask them out. See? Same thing."

Clarke snorts. "Okay well if Lincoln hates you then, yeah, it's the same thing," She huffs, playing with the rim of her glass sullenly. "Bellamy doesn't even give me a second glance. Like hell he'd say yes if I asked him out."

Octavia softened, pausing her task of wiping down the bar. Taking in the sad look on her best friend's face she turned to Gina and quietly asked her to keep an eye on everything for a minute. Gina nodded wordlessly, sending Clarke a sympathetic look. Octavia came around and pulled Clarke into a hug. She felt the other woman melt against her and tightened her arms, letting Clarke bury her face in her neck.

"Clarke," Octavia started, speaking quietly so only Clarke could hear. "I know you and Bell got off to a rough start, but trust me when I say that if you asked him out, he would say yes. Hell, if you asked him to marry you that boy would be dragging you to the courthouse tomorrow."

Clarke sniffled slightly, trying to swallow past the lump in her throat. She pulled away to wipe at her eyes. "Are you sure? Because sometimes I think you're right and then other times it feels like he hates me. I love him, O, I can't ruin what we have. I can deal with pining but I can't deal with him being uncomfortable around me because I misread things."

"Oh, honey," Octavia sighed, bringing the blonde back into her arms.

God, these two were so stupid. How could they not see that they were head over heels for each other? She knew her brother and that meant she knew that he loved Clarke. He was just terrible at dealing with feelings and his way of flirting with someone he really liked was starting fights with them and then awkwardly trying to do something sweet for the person but usually ending up just starting another fight. However, she also knew Clarke and she could tell the blonde actually liked their arguments. Octavia and Clarke had gone to college together- she knew when the other woman was actually mad during an argument. But with Bellamy, her best guess was that arguing was just their weird version of foreplay. Honestly, she tried not to think about it all that much.

After a few minutes of hugging, Octavia pulled back and gently wiped the remaining tears from Clarke's face. She hated seeing her best friend so sad and really hoped that she and Bellamy could work their shit out soon.

"Tell you what," Octavia said, a mischievous gleam in her eyes as she got an idea. "I'll go ask out Lincoln if you ask out Bellamy. If for some reason we get rejected, which I know you won't, we'll buy a shit ton of ice cream and spend the entire weekend watching Netflix and throwing popcorn at the TV. Sound good?"

Clarke sighed, before straightening out her shoulders. "Okay, deal."

"That's my girl," Octavia crowed, beaming at the blonde. "Bellamy should be here in less than 10 minutes. Are you going to do it then or do you need a bit more time?"

Clarke looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think I'm just going to do it. Like ripping off a band-aid, right?"

Octavia nodded. She made her way back around the bar, nodding her thanks to Gina, who gave her a bright smile and wink in response. She refreshed Clarke's rum and coke and went to tend to the patron who was obviously drunk and trying to wave her down.

After cutting the guy off and calling him a cab, Octavia made to go back over to Clarke. She stopped, however, when she noticed Bellamy standing next to Clarke, wide-eyed, while Clarke looked down at her hands. Octavia tensed slightly, hoping that she hadn't misread things- which, she knew she hadn't. But she didn't have to worry because a minute later Bellamy was cupping Clarke's jaw and kissing her.

Octavia smiled, bright and happy. She was beyond glad those idiots had finally gotten their heads out of their asses.

Soon Bellamy was tugging Clarke up off her perch on the bar stool. Octavia watched as her brother murmured something to Clarke, who nodded enthusiastically, and then they were out the door. Just before she left, Clarke turned to give Octavia a wink and nodded her head towards Lincoln. Octavia rolled her eyes and waved her off, grinning when Bellamy tugged Clarke hand impatiently. Clarke grinned happily and followed Bellamy out of the bar.

So caught up in watching her brother and her best friend finally get their happy ending, Octavia didn't notice the man settling in at the bar across from where she was absentmindedly wiping a glass. When she did, she did a small double take, cheeks flushing.

"Shit, sorry," She stammered in a way that was completely unlike her. "Uh, can I get you anything?"

The man, Lincoln, held up his empty beer bottle in a silent request and Octavia nodded. Busying herself with finding the correct bottle, Octavia tried to subtly check him out, even though the image of him had been imprinted in her mind for weeks. He was tall with broad shoulders, dark skin and a shaved head, and had tattoos spanning his arms and crawling up his neck. But what Octavia really liked, were his eyes. They were a deep, dark brown, almost black, and held a soft kindness that made Octavia feel warm.

She placed the fresh beer in front of him and gave him a small, genuine smile, one she usually reserved for her friends. It was nothing like the overly bright or sultry smile she wore while working. "Anything else?"

Lincoln grinned at her. "Well," He started, shyly. "I was going to ask for a date. But then I realized that hitting on someone while they're working isn't cool."

Octavia looked at him, stunned. She had hoped that he was interested in her, had caught some lingering looks, but hadn't been to tell for sure. She grinned brightly. "Well, you're not wrong. It isn't cool to hit on someone who is working," She said, before hurrying to finish as his face dropped gently. "However, I'll make an exception for you. So, if you still want to ask me out, go ahead."

Lincoln leaned closer slightly, his grin back in full force. "In that case, do you want to get dinner with me sometime?"

"I'd like that," Octavia replied happily. Realizing that she hadn't told him her name, she held out her hand. "Octavia Blake."

"Lincoln Woods," Lincoln responded, shaking her hand firmly.

They stood there like that for a minute, staring into each other's eyes, before Gina coughed slightly. She gave Octavia an apologetic look. "Sorry to interrupt, O, but can you take these over to the table in the back while I take care of the guy at the end of the bar?"

Octavia nodded. "Sure thing, G. Just give me one sec."

Gina smiled gratefully and went to deal with the drunk guy at the end of the bar yelling about the JFK conspiracy. Octavia turned her attention back to Lincoln, who was shrugging on his leather jacket and leaving a couple bills on the bar top.

"You leaving?" She asked, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice.

"Yeah," Lincoln replied, apologetic. "I want to stay but I have an early shift tomorrow and I have to take my dog out for a walk before it gets too late."

Octavia brightened. "You have a dog?"

Lincoln laughed. "Yeah, Anya. Hopefully, you can meet her sometime."

"I can't wait," Octavia grinned, hesitating for a second before leaning across the bar to press a soft kiss to his cheek.

Lincoln stood there stunned for a minute, watching her as she walked away with a tray of drinks, hips swaying enticingly.

Yeah, he couldn't wait either. Octavia Blake was certainly something else.

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 **I hope you enjoyed it!**


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